Astrology Class – Sun-Mars Cycles and Mars Retrograde Periods

Now that the Sun is no longer opposing Mars, I’ve had people tell me they can feel the shift. No wonder! When these two power planets line up in opposition, something’s got to give!

What gives, of course, is Mars. The Sun is the giver of Light/Life, and no other planet supersedes the power of the Sun to illuminate. And in any tug of war, the Sun wins. No question there.

Now that the Sun is past the opposition to Mars, we should start to feel like things are speeding up, if only a little. While there is still a hard edge to the atmosphere thanks to the Grand Cross, from now on Mars picks up speed, and by late May we'll all feel a definitely sense of relief!

By studying the cycles of the Sun with Mars, we come to understand an entirely different “pulse” of action/non-action in our charts, where the focus will be during the months that cycle is in effect, and where the critical turning points in those cycles will be encountered. By looking at where the Sun conjuncts Mars, and when they’re in opposition due to the Mars retrograde effect, we can see where our points of focus are, where we’ll be slowing down for a few weeks to re-trace our steps, and where our points of new initiative can be seen.

So today, we take a look at past, present, and future in terms of when the Sun conjunct Mars sets a new 2 year period into motion, as well as when Mars retrograde killed the momentum and forced us all to re-work, re-do, un-do, or slow something down for a while before picking it back up again with renewed focus. Perhaps by seeing where the various Sun conjunct Mars degrees fell in your chart, you’ll understand how various areas of your life were shown new initiatives, new ways of pushing forward in life, or new things that had to be done in order to move some karma forward in those houses.

What follows are the Sun-Mars cycles for the past 14 years. See where the conjunctions fell in your chart, see where the Mars retrogrades and oppositions to the Sun fell, and you may understand how your Light and Initiatives intersected to push you in new directions, or at least, where you had to un-do some things, or put them on hold, in order to move forward later on. And of course, all of this must be considered in the light of other planetary transits over these zones, as well as how other planets’ stationary points aspected the critical Sun-Mars cyclic points.

Of course, when Mars conjuncts our Sun, it begins a new two year cycle of Light/Life for us, just as when Mars conjuncts our Mars, we begin a new two year cycle of how we apply our Mars function in the world. And often we’ll see a jump in activity of the second of these after the first has been conjuncted.

In other words, if Mars conjuncts our Sun first, then we’ll see an uptick in activity when Mars conjuncts our Mars. If Mars conjuncts our Mars first, then we’ll see an uptick in activity when Mars conjuncts our Sun. And if you have a Sun opposed Mars in your natal chart, then when either the Sun or Mars conjuncts either of the poles of the opposition, it’s course correction and/or reset time!

So as we move through this time of slowed activity, preparing for the great fracturing, it could be that the Mars in Libra retrograde is exactly what we need to focus, integrate, or mitigate the potential of the T-square despite the generic friction. So keep it moderate, keep it diplomatic, keep it on an even keel, and even a crash could turn out in beneficial ways.

Comments

What kills my momentum. That's it. Natal mars rx, but direct now in progressed chart. I still notice the hits. But I seem to be better able to dissipate them. Alot of it is learning to trust myself, and to know when to give heed to those around me or just to make it past the speed bump. I do seem to have to think things out before proceding. And everyone once in awhile I kick myself for following bad advice against my judgement. Live and learn.

Is it possible Robert, that being aware of what needs letting go and being pro-active about it can result in this fracturing period feeling less like a "crash" (fearful word) and more like a bump in the ride as you take an important corner? Even if my ascendant is Libra, sun and moon in Scorpio?

Hi Radha - I thought this could give a different sense of what's been happening and where it's been happening.

Hi caliban - People with Mars retrograde have very unusual skills in getting behind inhibitions, finding "soft" ways to engage others so that they don't get prickly, and have great skills in diffusing tense situations. Better to have a plan before acting than not!!

Hi Sita - Well, I believe some things that fracture have already outlived their structural integrity, since the only thing that can fracture is that which is already able to fracture. Since Libra is the void of the T-square, then balance, perspective, keeping one's center, and all those other Libra keywords do apply. Perhaps your self image is being challenged, and a new sense of perspective will come forth. Or your own sense of self may be the solution to the fracturing in your world, if the fracturing isn't happening to you personally.

There are an infinite number of ways this is playing out on the world stage. For example, as of this morning Comedy Central's late night team just fractured. I'm sure the execs love the attention, if not the loss of one of their brightest talents.

In my case, two things mos def did crash, one of the them a tooth that needed a crown anyway. All this did was speed up the process of me getting dental work that had to be done sooner rather than later. The other crash was a true crash, and "not all the kings horses and all the kings men will ever put Humpty Dumpty back together again." May yours be a bump. At least your Scorpio is favored by Jupiter and Pluto, and now Venus.

The Sun/Mars opposition at 10 Aqua/Leo was the beginning of seeing the end of life as I knew it sun being conjunct POF and Mars on Transpluto, I remained passionate to honour my responsibilities as the mother nature gave me to be, even tho life was completely falling apart/away around me when it became clear that it was scrap the renovation idea, it requires demolishing, clearing the rubble and build anew from scratch which I have done, hoping that as Mars SD at 10 Libra, (4' from my moon thats caught up in the grand cross) as it sextiles 10 Leo and trines 10 Aqua by the time it crosses my ascendant at 26 construction of the new on strong foundations will be apparent, just hoping for a good life scenario rather than a good death scenario from the coming eclipse being on my asc/desc axis which squares natal Saturn, so it will be karma one way or the other...heaven on earth or heaven etheric, I feel good any how.

So the steadfast structuralists, unawares of the energy at play, may be feeling a sense of being lost? It would explain why I am having a problem with one of my relationships. The person wants to do ego battle, to assert some kind of master/slave relationship.